Japanese Sign Language

Japanese Sign Language is a way of communicating using your hands, face and body parts to express words and phrases, just like people use their voice to speak. It is used by people who are deaf or hard of hearing in Japan.

Imagine that you are talking to your friend but you can't hear what your friend is saying because it's too loud outside. To communicate with your friend, you might wave your hands, point to objects or use facial expressions to help them understand what you are trying to say. In the same way, Japanese Sign Language uses hand gestures, facial expressions, and body movements to make words and sentences.

For example, to sign "hello" in Japanese Sign Language, you put your dominant hand up to your forehead, then raise your hand while still keeping your fingers closed. This is like saying hello with your hand. To sign "cat," you make a fist with your thumb and little finger out and move your hand back and forth like a cat's tail.

So just like how you use words to communicate, people who use Japanese Sign Language use hand signs to communicate. It's like a secret language that only people who are familiar with it can understand!